The Coffee Table Book About Coffee Tables
by Chiwibel
Summary: A bunch of coffee related Reaper76 fic collectioninspired by coffee and my ever increasing intention of writing about coffee without writing a coffeeshop AU.
1. Not so bitter

A coffee-related **Reaper76** fanfiction collection

Some set in canon, some AU

Also on my Tumblr and AO3

* * *

 **Not so bitter**

It's not that Gabriel Reyes only took his coffee as black as his soul, but it was the only way he was patient enough to make it.

Drabble – Canon setting – Slightly AU

* * *

It's not that Gabriel Reyes only took his coffee as black as his soul, but it was the only way he was patient enough to make it.

And besides, once you got a taste of Jack's way of making a moca, you couldn't go back. Gabriel certainly couldn't, no matter how hard he tried to replicate the flavor, so he just drank it as bitter as he felt without him.

Even after their downfall, he could almost remember the taste. Almost.

Lately, things had been getting somewhat better. Sombra helped him get a better control of his nanites, which helped things he tried to eat taste like that wasn't ash. He had to bribe _Olivia Colomar_ with her own name to keep her mouth shut, as no one needed to know the expressions or sounds he certainly didn't have while eating his first pizza in years.

Pineapple was still a no-go, just saying.

Amélie managed to drag him to a frech café days later, but it wasn't the same. He was thankful for being able to share some quality time with her anyways, and to listen to her current whereabouts after Sombra and he ruined Talon from the inside and pretty much kidnaped Widowmaker in the process.

She was still staying with Ziegler, to Gabriel's chagrin, knowing he would have to face the doctor sooner or later.

Then, McCree and three bottles of whisky happened.

Or were there three dozens of bottles?

He couldn't quite remember. He knew there was a picture of himself wearing McCree's serape and nothing else, but Ana promised she'd only taken it to show him later. So of course Sombra got her hands on it.

He certainly didn't miss getting drunk, but he had to admire Jesse's dedication to get a super soldier completely shit faced.

"You know", Jack said, days two weeks after that and six days after they started sharing a place. Because of course they would do that. "Your girl showed me something interesting yesterday".

"Which one of my girls?", Gabriel asked. It could have been Olivia, Amélie or even Fareeha. Amélie was, surprisingly enough, the most likely to speak to Jack for some reason. Maybe. He would know, someday, or maybe he wouldn't.

"Sombra, she's-"

"If it's that picture of me wearing only you know what, I'm going to scream".

"It's not a bad picture, Gabe, you could consider adding more red to your wardrobe".

"Do I need to remind you of your Halloween costume from two years ago? Yes, I saw those photos and I can't believe how could you survive without me making them for you".

"The same way you lived without me making your coffee for you, you lazy ass".

"Jack, I-"

"If you say 'I died', _I'm_ going to scream. Now, get your ass up from the bed".

"Thought you loved it being here".

"Oh you can be sure of that, but the coffee's getting cold".

Even years later, Jack's coffee was as sweet and warm as he loved it. Almost as much as he loved the man that made it just for him. Almost.


	2. It's a fic about nothing, I say

**It's a fic about nothing, the comedian says**

Gabriel and Jack drink coffee before 4 a.m.

It's enough to fix a relationship, apparently. Or maybe they just need an excuse.

One Shot – Modern AU

…

It's 2:07 a.m.

Gabriel can do everything but sleep. He just finished grading some test, most of his students are brilliant kids and he's proud of them.

He's not exactly proud of himself right now, going out in the middle of neither night nor day with mismatching shoes and a winter coat. It's autumn.

His son should have bought coffee the previous day, but the kid is sleeping at a friend's house and he is not heartless enough to keep him away from that Hanzo boy he's been seeing. As long as they protect themselves, Gabriel is just going to patiently wait for Jesse to let him know whenever they want to go public.

And Gabriel may be a little bit on edge after the last time his son tried to run away from home after a not so bad but could have been a lot better fight. He's following your advice, Ana, give him a break and he'll give the kid a break too. He knows it's not the kid's fault that his ex is in town again.

(it's yours, ana, he knows it).

But the real reason Gabriel is out in the street, almost dead on his feet from the lack of sleep is because the last text he got, a couple of minutes ago.

It's from Jack.

 _im in the coffee shop in front of your place_

So he goes out in whatever the hell he's actually wearing and crosses the street. The place would have been empty of not from some sleeping teens, a business woman nervously typing something in her laptop, and Jack's walking corpse sitting at a table, all the way back. It used to be their corner, years back.

(he still spends most of his afternoon sitting there, alone. it's sadder than it sounds)

"You look like shit", Jack tells him.

"And you look worse", Gabriel bites back. He won't admit how worried Jack's look has him worried.

Jack sighs. "Order whatever, it's on me".

Gabriel sits in front of him and smirks, "You used to be charming".

"I don't see you leaving", Jack says and shrugs, "your standards must be really low now".

"They never were too high to begin with".

Jack laughs.

Gabriel misses him. He keeps himself busy ordering a coffee as black as the hole in his heart, not missing how Jack orders the exact same thing. They talk about nothing for a while, sipping their drinks looking at their hands. He wants to take his hand so bad.

He also wants to punch Jack and break his nose. And then kiss it better.

Feelings are complicated.

"Heard you were a teacher now".

Gabriel raises one eyebrow, "I became one before you left the city, Jackie". The name slips from his lips before he could stop it. Jack apparently notices it too, as his eyes start to water a little.

It could be how hot the coffee is. Gabriel knows it isn't.

"Just trying to make some small talk".

"Or trying to make me spill if I've been keeping tabs on you too, you'll have to try harder than that". He knows Ana got Jack a better offer than what made him leave, because she told him that she had asked Jack the very day she did. She still thinks they broke up over something stupid. Gabriel believes that if he hadn't changed his job in the force for a place in theater school, he would have killed them both. The pressure is too much and he has two kids to think about now.

He wants to blame Jack, but he did adopt Jesse and Olivia without asking him. Of course, they hadn't been on speaking terms then.

Their whole story is a mess.

Gabriel puts an elbow on the table and supports his head on his hand. Jack gets closer to him by getting both arms on the table. "How are your children doing? Do they still hate me?"

Gabriel snorts, "not as much as you hate yourself, Jackie".

"And I don't hate myself as much as you hate me, Gabe".

(but i love you).

Jack seems surprised. Very much so.

It takes Gabriel a whole minute to process the fact that he said that outloud.

His first instinct is to run. The second one is to stay in place and not move a finger, because Jack grabs his hand and cries. He says something among the lines of "I love you too, asshole" and "this is not how I wanted this to go" and neither did Gabriel, but from the way they're holding their hands, Gabriel thinks they're just a little bit glad.

No way in hell he's thanking Ana for any of this, though.

He's tired, so very tired. And Olivia is going to kill him. And maybe Jesse too, whenever the ingrate dares to come back home.

But Gabriel asks any way, "where are you staying?".

Jack snorts, "depends".

"On what?"

"On if your invitation to obviously stay with you implies I'm sleeping on the couch, because the hotel's bed is complete shit, but not as shit as whatever you have in your living room".

Gabriel is tempted to say that he got a new couch ages ago, but he just laughs and drags Jack to his place after paying their tab. He shuts Jack's complaints with a kiss, telling him he can invite him something else at a decent hour because they still have to have a serious talk about pretty much everything.

He stills lets Jack carry him to his room, under the excuse that Olivia would notice two sets of steps.

Gabriel knows he's touched rock bottom when he has to sneak people into his own place. The next morning, Olivia and a very much angry Jesse would prepare breakfast for four, and act as if Jack had always lived there, because of course he did now, and if he didn't dare to make an honest man out of their father, then he could leave or they would make him leave the country.

But it's just 3:41 a.m. right now and Gabriel's too tired to think much about it.


End file.
